Piltdown Superman

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen This article is going to be mighty different from our usual fare. If you or someone you know is a lighthouse aficionado, the first part may prove interesting.  Warning beacons are ancient, ranging from open fires to building more permanent structures when possible. The most famous lighthouses of old include the Pharos of Alexandria, Egypt and the Tower of Hercules (which still exists, albeit with reconstructions and such). Rebuilding happened frequently throughout history, and many restorations are done even now. Smeaton Lighthouse at Eddystone The word "lighthouse" is often used generically because although they were lights, not every one had living quarters. Some were visited by the keepers. Also, that word has connotations of the famous big towers, but there were other kinds. Let's look at a few on the Hudson River. The "spark plug" tower at Tarrytown had living quarters. Look at the  Saugerties Lighthouse , it strongly resembles a ho

It is amazing to hear some tinhorns say that living things only appear  to be designed, but are really the products of random processes — then they draw inspiration from creatures to use in human applications. This is biomimetics  or biomimicry. One source of several inspirations is the honeybee. It is impressive when people will observe a critter and essentially ask, "How does it do that? Why is this beneficial?", then work on practical applications. It is even more impressive when they succeed. Credit: Pixnio / Jarno Have you ever studied a honeybee, or seen videos? Notice how the abdomen does a great deal of flexing. Seems like the friction there would make it wear out. Scientists are studying the bee to design moving parts that last longer. The evidence is clear, so when someone utters an unscientific, opinion-based statement about living things only appearing to be designed, they are disingenuous. The Designer is God, who is described in the Bible. Scientists have uncove

There is something I say frequently because it is worth emphasizing: It is the often-observed fact that the more we learn about nature, the less "simple" it becomes. People in the thrilling days of yesteryear thought that cells were simple, but advancements in technology and scientific understanding left that notion behind. This happens frequently. Despite the bleating of atheists and other anti-creationists, evidence that the Master Engineer designed living things (as well as space, the laws of physics, logic, and so on) is increasingly abundant. It is galactically foolish to claim that living things  appear  designed, but are actually not. Glass sponge  Euplectella aspergillum image credit: NOAA (Usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) A "simple" glass sponge called Venus' flower basket is obviously not designed, but it is the product of time, chance, mutations, random processes, luck, and so on. That's why scientists are drawing inspiration fr

Various forms of flight technology have made impressive advances. Hot air balloons are not sufficiently controlled, but fixed- and swing-wing can be quite impressive in their maneuverability. Fixed rotors on helicopters and drones can have precise control. However, the assorted aircraft with jet engines or propellers are actually less efficient than flapping flight. This is where biomimetics comes into play. Readers of this site recognize that word ( biomimicry  is also used), describing how people look to nature and try to imitate them for our use. Ironically, flapping flight was too difficult to grasp. You may have seen videos of primitive attempts at human flight that imitated flapping, but the intricacies were not appreciated until much more recently with the advent of precision photography. Credit: Freeimages /  evfab4 Some people just want greater challenges. This is the case in making insect-sized flapping drones. Many factors come into play, including durability, efficiency,

While naturalists have their systems and rate various living things are primitive or advanced, many other recognize that our Creator has designed organisms for ecological niches. Sure, why not? Human societies have seemingly less important people to make society function, God has placed social amoebas and the like in the biosphere. Physarum polycephalum image credit: Flickr / Bernard Spragg It may seem funny or "alpha male" to eat moldy bread, but that is potentially dangerous; some molds can be scraped off and the food is still safe, others must be discarded . Mold has a function, even if people find it disgusting at times. There is another kind of mold that many have seen but may not be able to identify. One of its names is "social amoeba" because it is actually a colony comprised of single-celled amoebas. Another name is rather unpleasant: slime mold. The Latin name Physarum polycephalum is cumbersome. It is often found in wooded areas. In a surprising bit of b

Robots have fascinated people for decades. Science fiction stories have frequently made them as humanity's enemies. Similar stories have been written about nanobots , but that technology is only in its early stages. Scientists are hoping they can be used in space exploration and medical technology. Made at PhotoFunia We can guess about the "bot" part of the word, but what is a nano? It's not someone hired to care for the children. A nanometer is very, very small , and nanobots (or nanomachines) are robots that may work on the molecular level, but that is still under development. Sometimes games can be used to stimulate creativity, and there were nanosoccer competitions several years ago — microscopic games, what a concept! There was a movie in 1966 called Fantastic Voyage  that involved a submarine and crew miniaturized, injected into a patient, destroying a blood clot, then escaping. Imaginative stuff, but if nanobots are successfully developed, they may be useful f

Biomimetics (or biomimicry) is the scientific applications of using what has been found in nature and making them available for our use. We use the minds that our Creator gave us to make use of various things, but deny rightful credit (" it evolved "). Has biomimetics gone to the dogs? Credits: Original from Freeimages / Lidija Macej , modified at PhotoFunia Or more accurately, some of biomimetics is  coming from the dogs. The right person was paying attention to burrs in a dog's fur, and eventually, Velcro was developed . Another invention inspired by observing a dog — "A dog walked into a saloon with one arm in a sling. He tipped back his cowboy hat and announced to the bartender and everyone else, "'I'm lookin' for the man that shot my paw!'" Many thanks for that humorous non-contribution.  So anyway, why was the cocker spaniel getting along so well on the ice, but his pet human was having all sorts of troubles? This observant man had hi

Despite their pyretic adoration of goo-to-guppy evolution, materialists are frequently stymied by examples of the Master Engineer's handiwork. Their louche " it evolved " excuses are based in faith, not empirical science. We will look at evolution-defying metabolism, body design, and dodging predators. Don't carp, the linked articles are short. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / 5snake5 ( CC0 1.0 ) Evolutionists presuppose that life began in the oceans, and that our distant ancestors were fish. Therefore, onward and upward evolution would show more advanced traits in land dwellers than in fish. As we've seen many times, you can't find something if you don't look for it — or if you're not thorough. A complex metabolic process was discovered in fish that "should not" be there. A complex metabolic process called Chaperone-Mediated-Autophagy (CMA) was thought to be a recent evolutionary development in land vertebrates as it was only previously

Creationists have been using the bombardier beetle as an example of irreducible complexity before that that phrase was first used by Dr. Michael Behe. Essentially, everything has to be in place from the start or nothing works. The bombardier beetle has also inspired some scientific applications.  There are many species of these beetles. Some of them are the explosive types that fire off bursts of hot liquid accurately at predators, and others have similar approaches.  Australian bombardier beetle,  Wikimedia Commons /  Peter Halasz  ( CC by-SA 3.0 ) Clinton Richard Dawkins told half truths and left out important information while denigrating creation and affirming evolution. Of course, his "it evolved" non-answer was typical of Darwin's acolytes. Professor Andy McIntosh was familiar with the common fascinating information, but he has a different perspective and education, so he asked different questions than the rest of us may ask. His collaboration and examinati

Standing on the patio near the bird feeders, I can hear the sound of wings a-fluttering when a customer arrives. It seems that I can even distinguish a couple of different kinds of birds by the sound. If for some reason an owl arrived near the patio, I would not know it. Credit: Flickr / pics by stefanie  ( CC BY 2.0 ) In fact, I would be mighty startled. Not only are they silent, but many are quite large. Their silent flight has attracted the attention of biomimetics researchers. Their wings and flight have already inspired quieter computer fan blades, and more work is being done for use in flying machines. Of course, some owlhoots give praise to Darwin instead of giving deserved credit to the Master Engineer. Intelligently designing devices based on something they believe happened by chance doesn't make a heap of sense, does it? If you watch an owl flapping or gliding, it’s like viewing film footage with the sound on ‘mute’—they are so silent. That’s because their wings have ve

Quite a few people have seen living things that give off their own light. It can be a mite disconcerting sometimes, but a wide variety of organisms do this, including fish, algae, fungi, insects, and others. It is called bioluminescence, and is extremely challenging for adherents of microbes-to-miner evolution to explain. The mechanism is extremely efficient, and evolutionists claim that it happened over forty times. They have no idea how ,   but " stuff happens " is somehow a valid evolutionary explanation. Scientists are studying fireflies for biomimetics applications (as usual, refusing to give credit to the Creator). The diversity of bioluminescent critters is baffling to evolutionists, as is the specified complexity of the mechanism: everything has to be in place and working at the same time, else nothing works or makes sense. Another puzzler for them is that some self-glowing has no apparent purpose; perhaps the Master Engineer put some in place for our appreciati

No need to be afraid unless you are a Darwinist. There is an ugly creature known as the hagfish that exists in many species around the world, looks a bit like a snake, has no jaw, and lives up to its nickname of slime eel. Yes, when provoked, it can secrete huge amounts of slime for defense. Credit: NOAA/CBNMS/ Linda Snook That slime thing is related to motion, and actually can clog the gills of predators. The hagfish can produce quite a bit of it in a short time. Its slime is like a multitude of tiny threads. In a biomimetics move, the US Navy is interested in studying it. I don't think they're interested in the part where the hagfish can tie itself into a knot, though. Evolutionists squabble about how to classify the hagfish because it does not fit nicely into any category. Naturally, Darwin's disciples would have you believe that it has been around for millions of years, but they have no fossil evidence for where it came from, and what little they have shows t

Good science can be had by studying the work of the Master Engineer in nature, then finding ways to implement them for our own lives. The field of biomimetics is rapidly growing, with new applications being considered frequently. Some of these come from sources that may seem startling, such as the black widow spider. Credit: Pixabay / jgiammatteo This infamous arachnid causes folks to yell, "Katie, bar the door!", which can be counterproductive if the thing's inside with you. But although their venom is somewhat dangerous (less so for healthy adults), antivenom exists. Just don't be fussing with it, you savvy? You might consider calling an exterminator if they're in your home. Or maybe one of the researchers. Spiders have always been spiders, and they show no signs of having evolved from something way back when. Researchers want to know about their webbing, since it is proportionately very strong and they have some interesting ideas to implement. Like th

Mention a weevil to a farmer, and you are likely to hear about how certain kinds destroy grain . You may have had them in your stored food . Even so, studying science and creation can provide some amazing insights into the work of the Master Engineer, and the rainbow weevil of the Philippines even inspires imitation. Because it displays all the colors of the visible rainbow in its spots, researchers want to examine it for applications (biomimetics) in areas that involve optics. These rainbow spots are the product of complex cell structures, which defy evolutionary explanations. The beautiful glossy rainbow weevil from the Philippines is unique for the spectacular rainbow colored spots on its thorax and forewing. These circular spots produce all the colors, and in the same order, as those found in a rainbow in a series of successive rings. Many insects exhibit the ability to produce different types of colors, but it’s unusual for one to exhibit such a vast spectrum. Researchers

There are several words used to describe the how humans copy things in the natural world for our own use. I use biomimetics, others use biomimicry , and today I learned a new one: bioinspiration. Has a nice sound to it, don't you think? Today, we take a lesson from Bicycle Repairman . First successful flight of the Wright Flyer by the Wright brothers Image via Wikimedia Commons I was getting a mite playful for a moment. This is about Wright brothers, who had several interests, including bicycles. They were firm creationary Christians, and wanted to know how to fly. The Wrights were right in studying birds, and they were very meticulous and scientific in their studies of how the Master Engineer created flight.  They also looked at the failures of their contemporaries. Ever see old videos of "early flight attempts" or "flight failures"? Some were just weird, and many seemed to think that flight is a matter of flapping up and down, sometimes with paddles

When watching movies where indigenous people were attacking, hunting, or driving off enemies, I noticed something resembling a long trough used to launch a dart, arrow, or spear. Seemed silly to me, just throw the spear. I was dreadfully wrong on that. Although it looked awkward, the tool became an extension of the arm and gave more power to the projectile. This made it possible for womenfolk and young'uns to get into the act. When you had a group of people on the prod who were skilled in using those tools, you'd better get out of Dodge mighty quick-like! Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Richard Keatinge ( CC BY-SA 3.0 ) I was uncomfortable using a photo where people could be recognized, so I blurred the facts even though the original image does not do this. There are several names and styles, and simple enough that you can make your own atlatl . Interesting that these spear-throwing devices are very similar, and can be found in 'Straya and the Americas, among other pla

You probably know that there are some mighty strange things living in the oceans, and we have not even explored all of them yet. An odd flat fish thing that is somewhat familiar is the manta ray. Rays are related to sharks, but without the bad attitude. Sharks, dolphins, and so on move from side to side, but mantas have that interesting motion that (to me) looks a bit like it's flying underwater. One endangered species has the unfortunate moniker of " devil fish " or "giant devil ray" because some folks thought it looked creepy. Scientists wanted to study the motion of mantas for biomimetics uses. The sting ray was not mentioned in the report that I saw. Credit: flikr / jon hanson ( CC BY-SA 2.0 ) If you recollect that biomimetics is the way scientists study organisms in nature so they can imitate them for our use, then you recollect rightly. Someone got the notion that mantas have a way of moving that, if successfully imitated (although without credit to

Shut your trap. No, not you. There are two carnivorous plants with snap traps, one of which is the more famous Venus fly trap , which snaps on insects and so forth for supper. Some people have them, but they are endangered, so you can get in a heap of trouble if you dig one up yourself. However, you can get one from a licensed dealer and make it a kind of pet if you give it the proper care . Credit: US Geological Survey (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) There's another trap shutter called the waterwheel plant. This bad little boy is endangered, has no roots, and floats along. When a small critter triggers its mechanism, the hinge snaps shut in as little as a hundredth of a second. Biomimetics research is being conducted for shading systems in architecture. A couple of papers were submitted in the same month about the waterwheel plant. One discussed the biomimetics application, and details on the plant's operation. The other paper had a little inform

Geckos, those cute little lizards from 'Straya that look like they're smiling, have already inspired scientists to do some biomimetics. The Master Engineer gave us minds, and also gave us what is called the dominion mandate that includes learning from nature and applying what we can to our lives. Credit: Clker clipart Of course, smart-from-the-beginning-of-creation humans have been copying from nature for a mighty long time, but it took modern technological advances to be able to find out how these critters operate. Just when they thought they could leave the lab and go home, they were stopped at the door for more study. The skin of geckos repels water quite handily. More than that, it is antibacterial! What does that mean for us? Glad you asked. There are several potential applications, including medical science, where implants would repel potential infections. Once again, Darwinian concepts strain credulity. The gecko gives silent testimony to creation. Now scien

The word serendipitous sometimes refers to a happy circumstance, or simply being in the right place at the right time. Several instances of biomimetics have occurred when a creature or organism was doing what it does, and someone wanted to know, "How does it do that?", or mayhaps, "We should try to imitate this feature". Credit: Freeimages / Aleph Ozuas (cropped) I have to admit that the article linked below is something I put off. That is because I didn't want to bring up another critter that might prompt some people say, "Ewww!" In this case, the much-maligned earwig is our first example. I'll allow that this insect is rather startling in appearance, and it is a pest for some folks. No, the story about it burrowing into your ear is a prairie patty. The interesting part is the way they fold their wings like they were doing origami , but more intricate. Engineers foresee biomedical applications, spacecraft modules, and other possibilities.